With the release of two more Michelle Obama-led magazine covers this month, we started to wonder that, if forty is fabulous, what happened to adoration for fifty-year-old women? Seriously, besides this month's essence, which features 45-year-old Obama and her 71-year-old mother, when was the last time you saw a fifty-plus woman on the cover of an American magazine? (AARP doesn't count, damn it.)
This list sets out to right that ridiculous wrong-- with ten famous women who can still sell magazines into their sixth decade...
By the way, this list is by no means complete-- we could easily do a top 100 over sexy women in their 50s from the land of the famous... and have plenty left over:
Cheryl Ladd, 57
Most recently of the James Caan-led Vegas show, Ladd could easily pass for ten years younger and more. What's extraordinary about her is her refreshing take on women who want to look younger:
I have no problem with plastic surgery. I have a problem with women who are 40 and 50 years old trying to look 20. That's when plastic surgery goes wonky. You can tweak what God gave you and freshen it up and look maybe eight to 10 years younger than what you are, but that's the limit. Otherwise it's just frightening what some woman are doing to themselves. They look masky and strange. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Diahann Carroll, 73.
This sadly, nearly-forgotten (well, at least by the obnoxious mainstream culture of nipple slips and big-ass-obsessed rap videos) Tony and Golden Globe award-winning actress and dancer, who famously dumped David Frost via her marriage announcement to another man, is without question one of the superficially excellent-looking women of all time. Exhibit A: the above two photos (including the one atop this post.) Exhibit B: notorious (bad dresser) and ragingly assholic Mr. Blackwell, who made one of his few good calls when he dubbed Ms. Carroll "possibly the most perfect woman" and the "all-time best-dressed woman." Amen.
Sharon Stone, 51
Yes, her boobs aren't real and, yes, she's kind of a wacko by all insider accounts from Hollywood, California, but let's not forget-- Sharon Stone is a good-looking fifty-one-year-old woman. We love that she has refused to step off the A-list and accept the usual "housewife or nun" Oscar bait roles and continues to lead major fundraisers for gay rights and other worthy causes. And even when she's in her 70s, we're betting you'll still picture the hottest sex scene in film history when you hear her name.
Nancy Wilson, 55
Nancy Wilson is the ultimate woman. There, I said it. She's a rock and roll badass, still making great music into her sixth decade on earth (take that, pretty much everyone!), became a mom just under ten years ago, and, well, it's irrelevant whether she's still attractive, although she very much is. Wilson will always have a place in our hearts for marrying that big romantic lug Cameron Crowe, who says even today that he cannot quite believe that knockout from Heart wanted anything to do with a Nice, Dopey Guy like him.
Sally Field, 62
Sally Field was once so sexy, she was able to fend off marriage offers from Burt Reynolds at his peak. More importantly, Sally Field is-- and feel free to disagree with me on this one, as I've been told I'm crazy-- she's even hotter now. Did you see her acceptance speech at the Emmy's in 2007? Not only was she jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but her acceptance speech (sorry for the offensive imagery, but it's true) stirred more than one of our body parts: "If the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place!" Of course, FoxNews deleted this portion of the program...
Continue reading in Part Two...
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